Small Ideas
by helpfulfairy92
Summary: Small things that won't leave me alone. Rated for language. Ch 5, Caroline and Henrik
1. Garden Party

_Just something that has been bugging me. Nothing serious at all. AH, AU nonsense. Enjoy!_

 _ **Esther**_

The first spring celebration Esther had thrown, after marrying Mikael, had been an unmitigated disaster.

It had rained, and the grounds were too wet to be of any use, and so they had ended up in the ballroom of the old Mikaelson Manor.

The caterers had mixed up the food, and they hadn't sent enough servers.

Somehow their entire alcohol order had been lost, and hadn't sent a bartender.

Freshly married, and freshly pregnant, the day had started out with a rough bout of morning sickness, and had continued to get worse with every second.

She had ended the day spectacularly ruining her mother in laws rose bushes after smelling someone's foul cologne.

It was a dark, dark stain in her first year of marriage, and her husband had learnt if he knew what was good for him, a day they never spoke of.

Thankfully, every year since had been a resounding success, bar her children's yearly pranks, the day usually went off without a hitch.

When they were small, it was usually harmless pranks, things that could be laughed off as young children being bored.

A frog in a handbag of a guest they didn't like, a spilled drink down someone's leg, crying to escape over eager cheek pinchers, tantrums when they didn't like the food, crickets dropped into wine glasses, flicking bits of torn tissue into the fountain.

As teenagers, it had escalated.

One year, Kol had taken a spray bottle of water around and had pretended to sneeze on people.

Once Nik had 'pretended' to accidentally push a guest into a still wet painting when they followed him into the house.

Rebekah was fond of 'accidentally' spilling drinks on dresses she hated, or people, so they would have to leave early.

Henrik would throw canapes at people, claiming innocence with a devilish look in his eyes.

Elijah and Finn had taught the rest of them ancient Norse, and they had spent the day confusing guests conversing in another language. From what little Esther had been able to understand, they had spent the day insulting everyone they spoke to.

One year Kol and his best friend Caroline had learnt sign language just to spend the day signing to each other, prompting guests to ask Esther when her son had lost his ability to speak.

She had caught all her children sneaking off for _alone time_ with their dates at one time or another. Just last year, she had stopped Nik and Caroline from sneaking into the house.

Elijah and Kol used to try and trip the guests up, as they looked so similar they could often pass as one another, and when people would ask Kol about his work, he would immediately descend into a spiel about how great it was to tear people apart in a courtroom, holding in laughter until one of his parents could drag him away from the confused guest.

Elijah would then use the distraction to take over and talk about how much he loved food, and whatever it is that they were eating today was probably peasant food.

One year, Nik _did_ trip guests, spending the whole day being the cause of various guests falling over, much to the delight of his siblings.

Three years ago, her sons had arrived together, a highly unusual event, each in one of their mother's designer dresses, with their dress socks and shoes on, badly placed wigs on their heads.

Esther had been horrified at the ruination of some of her favourite dresses, and had sent the boys upstairs to change.

(Kol had a nasty habit of turning up in jeans, and their pranks sometimes got out of hand, so she had learnt to keep a change of clothes at the house for all of them.)

The previous year they had attempted to drink the bar dry. Only one lone bottle of scotch had survived the night.

Esther had come down at three in the morning to find them laughing and sprawled across the outdoor lounge suite next to the pool. Elijah and Finn were both dripping wet, sitting on the edge of the pool, toasting each other with tequila bottles in hand.

They had been scolded as much as one could scold grown children, and sent to bed with Esther's glare pushing the giggling group up the stairs.

Of course, she had tried in vain so many times to stop their escalating prank war. Glad that they only seemed to do this at the garden party, one of the more relaxed events she held.

She started digging at the breakfast that followed the year before. Usually, her children made it an overnight trip, staying for breakfast and then heading back to their homes.

Of course, they had attempted to drink the bar dry the previous night, and so each of them were _obscenely_ hungover, and barely had enough functioning brain cells to make it down the stairs, let alone through an interrogation.

Finn had barely been able to open his eyes, before attempting to drinking his weight in coffee, his wife's smug grin making him groan whenever he caught site of it.

Freya had rested her head on the table, and couldn't look at any of the food without turning a delicate shade of green.

Elijah had, for the first time since he was eight, turned up to breakfast in his pyjamas.

Katherine had downed mimosa after mimosa, gradually going from grey to her usual complexion.

Niklaus and Kol had looked to still be drunk, and were half holding each other up as they crashed down the stairs.

Henrik had barely sat down, and reached for some toast, before bolting for the downstairs bathroom.

Only Caroline seemed to be fine, although, she did catch Kol calling her a filthy cheat, but Caroline had only laughed him off when he turned green as she ate some eggs.

And so, for the months leading up to the party, she kept a closer eye on her children, invited them over for dinner more.

Arranged one on one lunches, called Katherine weekly, on the guise of checking in on her pregnant daughter in law, hoping that she would let something slip with her pregnancy brain.

She cornered Henrik, who still lived at home, pestering him until she was sure he would give in in annoyance.

She called Caroline, Kol's best friend and Nik's girlfriend once a week on the guise of gossiping and catching up, fishing as casually as she could.

She met with Elijah at his office, and called Finn so much his secretary had become a tentative friend.

She surprised Nik at work, and turned up to his apartment without warning, interrupting more than a few date nights with Caroline.

Kol was the luckiest, his work schedule was erratic, and was hard to find. She had attempted to stake out his apartment that he shared with Caroline, but he was never there, (she usually used the time to interrogate Caroline) or she had just missed him.

Freya had taken to parking her car around the back of her house, just in case her mother tried to stop by when she was at home.

Elijah's security team wouldn't even let her in the elevators without his express say so and Rebekah's doorman was under strict instructions not to let her in the building.

She knew that they had been talking to each other when her calls started being screened, secretaires were warned into not answering calls, or letting her into offices.

With her children, who were usually willing to toss each other into the line of fire without so much as a second thought, this level of solidarity was suspicious and rather annoying.

...

 _ **Caroline**_

Caroline dressed carefully, picking out a nice dress that she prayed would not get ruined this year.

A couple of years ago, Kol had locked her in the library, and she had ruined her dress climbing out the window.

Caroline was looking forward to this year's Mikaelson Family Garden Party (yes, all capitals), although, she was perhaps looking forward to the after event more.

Every year, there was a poker game, held in the dead of the night at the Mikaelson Manor, the stakes were always high, the winner usually taking a nice stack of cash home, and a dare or favour of some kind owed to the winner by the loser.

Post-game, they had gone down to finish drinking the bar dry, and had ended up sprawled across the pool furniture, laughing and congratulating Caroline on her win.

There was one last bottle of scotch to be opened when Esther had found them, and sent them all to bed with a furious glare chasing them inside.

The next morning, at Esther's appointed breakfast hour, they had slowly ventured downstairs.

Caroline had managed to beat everyone downstairs, and was sitting next to Esther sipping a mimosa smugly when they had stumbled in, outrageously hungover, and grumpy at losing to her yet again.

Caroline sat freshly showered and as cheerful as ever, had cheerily greeted each of them, only to receive filthy looks and glowers (even Klaus had only managed to pat her shoulder in his grumpy hungover state).

...

 _ **Esther**_

This year, the weather was perfect, a lovely summers day, warm and dry, and everything was going according to plan.

The caterers had turned up on time, the champagne was chilled, she had hidden the scotch from her children, who had, for the first time ever, all turned up on time, and dressed appropriately.

She warily waited for the other shoe to drop.

...

 _ **Kol**_

"Your mother has been acting super weird all day" Caroline announced, handing Nik a glass of champagne, returning from where Esther had dragged her around to meet her society friends. He merely hummed in response and wrapped his free hand around her wrist, tugging her down to sit on his lap, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"That's hardly anything new, little bird" Kol said from the chair next to them, "she has always been a bit loopy, think it came from marrying Mikael" he and Klaus had been sitting, watching their parents with matching grimaces on their faces while they were farewelling of Mikael's business associates.

"Quite sure she would have been loopy to marry him in the first place" Nik said, draining half his flute, and then looking at it in mild distaste.

The day was thankfully winding down, and while there were a few stragglers, there was mostly just the family scattered around the lawn in the warm summer air.

Caroline had been dragged all over the lawn by his mother all day, and he was bored without his usual entertainment for the day.

"I don't know about you two, but I could do with something stronger" Caroline grinned at them, memories of last year darkening their scowls.

"You'd better not be getting us drunk again so you can cheat, little bird" Kol said, frowning at her,

"Of course not, would I do something like that?" she smiled at him mockingly, draining the last of her champagne, and wandered off to the bar, giving the bartender a winning smile.

"You'd better marry her Nik, because if you don't, I will friend wife the shit out of her" Kol told his older brother as she came back to their table with an unopened bottle of scotch and three heavy tumblers.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it" his brother mumbled, watching his girlfriend with a smirk.

"Now how did you manage to get that little bird?" Kol took the bottle from her and poured out three glasses, sliding them over, clinking his glass against the other two.

"Promised everlasting love to the bartender" she teased, raising her glass to Enzo, who was a good friend of both Kol and Caroline.

"See, he was told not to let any of _you_ take bottles, no mention of little ole me! It's honestly like your mother doesn't trust you lot at all," she joked, kicking her heels off and placing her feet on Kol's thigh, leaning back against Nik, draining her glass with a smug look.

...

 _ **Esther**_

Thankfully, the rest of the day had gone smoothly, and although there had been a minor prank between the girls, nothing had gone horribly awry.

She had confiscated the bottle of scotch that she had found Kol with, sent a tipsy Rebekah to bed early, had shut the bar down before any of the others thought they could get away with a repeat of last year before heading up to bed herself.

It was a couple of hours later, when she went to get a glass of water, when she noticed a door with a bar of light still shining under it. All her children's bedroom doors were opened, and when she checked they were all empty.

She realised that the door with a light still on was the room Nik and Caroline were sharing, and hoping against hope that she wasn't about to walk into something she really didn't want to see, she pushed the door open slowly.

There was a table set up in the middle of the floor, all of them seated around it, as well as the bartender from the party, holding cards, a pile of cash in the middle of the table as well as what looked like Kol's watch, and a pair of earrings she was _sure_ she had seen Katherine wearing earlier.

They were all wearing matching expressions of guilt and surprise.

Kol had started choking on his drink, Caroline absently patting his back, while still managing to hide her cards from Nik's eyes as he attempted to use the distraction to look at her hand.

Freya subtly slid the small tumbler of scotch away from Henrik's hand, hoping that Esther wouldn't notice it.

Finn and Sage slowly turned around to face her, Elijah and Katherine holding in sniggers at her astonished face.

"What exactly is going on here?" Esther asked slowly, as the rooms occupants avoided eye contact, hiding guilty looks behind glasses and cards.

"Er- it's our annual poker tournament" Esther was baffled.

"Poker tournament? Annual?" she gave each of her children, and children in law a piercing stare, until Freya cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Well, every year, we get together after the garden party and play poker" Freya said, with a jerky wave of her hand to the cash in the middle.

"Winner gets a favour from the loser, or a dare" she explained, "and the cash of course"

Even Henrik had a small pile of cash in front of him, a mildly guilty look on his face, as he lowered the cards to stop Kol from peeking at them.

"Is this why Kol was calling Caroline a filthy cheater at breakfast last year?" Esther asked, a slow realisation on her face, and Caroline have a smug beaming smile, flipping her curls over one shoulder.

"It's really not my fault you can't hold your tequila, big bird" she shot at Kol with a sweet smile on her face.

Esther couldn't believe that this is what they had been hiding from her, and asked the room "How long has this been going on?"

Freya answered again, "Well, it wasn't always poker, we used to play go fish until we got older." She was wearing a placating smile, and kicked Finns shin under the table, knowing that he was their best bet at escaping with minimal damage from their mother's wrath.

"We're bonding," was all he managed to say, and everyone gave him an exasperated look, although, it made Esther smile.

Her children didn't always get along with each other, so anything they found to do together that didn't end in bloodshed was a good thing in her book.

"Don't stay up all night, your father's business partner and his wife are coming for breakfast, and I refuse to face that woman alone" was all she said before shutting the door again, hearing the disbelieving laughs as she moved away.


	2. Coming home

_**I have absolutely zero explanation for this one.**_

He decides to surprise his girlfriend. He's been away for just over a month, helping the company set up their new branch in Portland, and he'd been sent to help hire the right people and get the office all ready. He wasn't supposed to be back for a couple more days, but had gotten sick of staying in a hotel, he wanted his bed, with Caroline, and to not be around his colleagues longer than necessary.

It's nearing three am when the taxi finally pulls up. He's been awake for the better part of 48 hours, and his eyes are dry and scratchy and all he wants to do is climb into bed next to his girlfriend and sleep for a week.

He nods politely to the doorman, and manages to make it to the elevator without having him talk. The night doorman is nice enough, he's a bit weird though, and Klaus couldn't care less about anything he might say right now.

The rest of the trip is sort of a blur, he isn't sure if he is awake or not, but somehow, he gets into the apartment and makes his way to their bedroom.

She is curled up on the right side of the bed, the covers pulled up to her chin, with her blond curls pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She is such a still, deep sleeper, she doesn't notice when he trips over his tired feed as he enters the room.

He drops his suitcase and surveys the room.

It's slightly messier than usual. And by that he means she has a pair of socks on the floor next to the bed, obviously kicked off at some point, and there are a couple of contracts and planning folders stacked next to the bed, probably ones she's been working on, judging by the laptop on his side of the bed, and the cold mug of half-drunk tea on the bedside table, she's been working. He guesses she kept going until her eyes wouldn't stay open, and she just closed the laptop, and slept as she was.

The throw that usually rests along the end of the bed is arranged over her side, and he can _just_ the collar of one of his t shirts peeking over the top of the comforter.

The air is just this side of cool, just the way she likes it, and smells of the cream she uses on her face at night.

"Klaus?" her voice is heavy with sleep and a bit of confusion, he _is_ a few days early.

While they talk every day, her voice sounds so much better in person than over the phone.

"Shh, go back to sleep" but she's already turning on the bedside lamp, blinking at him in the sudden wash of light.

"You're back early" she sounds pleased, even though she is still mostly asleep.

Her face is creased with pillow marks, and her hair is a wild tangle, pieces falling out of the messy bun; she has never looked more beautiful.

His side of the bed is untouched, the pillow crisp and blanket unruffled.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you sweetheart" he murmurs, and shucks off his pants, socks and shoes, and she gives him a sleepy smile and a yawn.

"I've missed you" she says, and pats the bed next to her, shifting back down into the blankets. He pulls his shirt over his head, and moves the covers back "like crazy" he agrees, and she flicks the lamp off as he climbs into bed.

He reaches for her as soon as she settles back down, fitting her back to his chest and burying his face in her shoulder, letting out a content breath as they lie there in the quiet warmth. He is heading towards sleep when she sleepily says, "love you", tightens her grip on his arm and presses a kiss to his hand.

"love you too" he kisses her shoulder.

It is good to be _home_.


	3. Little Bird

_**These two are my BroTP and I'm not even sorry about this. (This is set in the same universe as Garden Party, it's sort of an origin of Kol and Caroline's friendship, and her nickname, but mostly just word garbage.) Be warned, this one has some strong language, I do not recommend reading if you're not into swearing!**_

The first time he meets Caroline Forbes, it is four in the morning, and she is (if he's being honest, _quite_ spectacularly) drunk.

She's standing on the street in front of his building talking to herself.

Or, at least, he thinks she is.

"You absolute little _shit_ , do you have any idea about how absolutely soul crushingly bad my night has been, and here you are trying to make it worse by stealing the one thing that is bringing me happiness. How fucking _dare_ you. Just who do you think you are, king of the fucking pigeons?"

He witnesses her waving her hands around, blond curls flying and he can't help but laugh.

"Easy there, darling," he says, still laughing, and waves his hands to further chase away the bird.

"Hey! That bird deserved everything it had coming, the sneaky thief" she scowled at Kol, but he couldn't stop laughing.

This pretty, blond, drunken _mess_ was telling off a _pigeon_ of all things, rather well too.

"I don't doubt it, but I'm quite sure it can't understand you" she's folded her arms and an adorable drunken scowl is settling on her face.

She sits on the top step, with a little huff and he takes a moment to study her.

He takes in the dress she's wearing, the heels in hand, the messy curls and the tear smudged mascara, and groans, knowing that _somehow_ , his plans of falling into bed and passing out for the next twenty-four hours have been postponed.

"Are you alright?" he asks, sighing heavily and sitting next to her on the top step, she eyes him suspiciously.

"Are you going to murder me?" she shoots back,

"I don't have any plans to, besides, do you know how hard it is to hide a dead body around this area?"

He grins, "It's murder" she rolls her eyes at his terrible pun, but it's done the job, because the wary look in her eyes dissipates a touch, it's obviously enough, because she opens her mouth and starts _talking_.

"My boyfriend, _well_ I guess he's my ex-boyfriend now, is one of those ridiculous academic types, like hasn't left school since high school, which, I _know_ , is _insane_ , I mean how can anyone read that many textbooks and not want to gouge their eyes out, but anyway, he decided that I don't have the right look for someone to be involved with someone in academia, because I'm blond and I was a cheerleader, and I'm great in social situations. I mean, none of that is my fault, I'm still smart, I was valedictorian in high school, and was magna cum laude in college, I have a _doctorate_ for fucks sake, but just because I'm blond and pretty and smarter than he is, he likes to make me out to be an idiot. To be honest, I don't even know why they keep him around, he is an _actual_ idiot."

She's barely paused for breath, and if he's being honest, he's mildly impressed at the amount of oxygen she's managing to pull through her lungs, he thought Rebekah was a talker, but she has nothing on this girl.

"Anyway, he dumped me in the middle of his shitty party, with his shitty friends and now I can't go home, because we live together." She pauses for a breath at this point, and he's glad. He doesn't remember those CPR classes that Elijah had forced them all into, and he kind of doesn't want her to die.

"I mean, what did he think was going to happen, that he could just break up with me and he could go home and I would just magically disappear from his life? We live together, all my stuff is in that shitty apartment. Oh god, I'm going to have to find somewhere to live" she groans, holding her head in her hands.

"Anyway," she says to the steps under her bare feet, "here I am, drunk and rambling to a stranger and waiting for my shit head brother to come home"

"Your brother lives here? In this building?" he points and she nods,

"Stefan, he's 4C" Kol knows who she is talking about, Stefan Salvatore.

"The dude with the funny hair, right?" this gets a genuine laugh out of her, and another nod.

"I'm 5C, I live right above him. You're welcome to wait upstairs for him, it's sort of freezing out here?"

"You're not going to murder me, right?" she clarifies, warily watching as he stands, and offers her a hand to pull her up.

"I swear, I've been working all night and I am far too tired to drag your dead body around today. I'm Kol by the way, see now we aren't strangers." She smiles, and takes his offered hand.

"Caroline, and if you kill me, my brothers will hunt you to the ends of the earth" she says with a bright sunny smile.

"Come on then, you little bird disciplinarian let's get you inside."

It's the birth of an excellent friendship and a nickname she will never escape.

...


	4. Something Epic

_**I'd apologise but I'm not really sorry. AU and whatever I wanted it to be. Slight language warning. Please leave me a review!**_

 _ **(Also, totally open to prompts, just PM me and I'll see what I can do!)**_

Marriage has always been a part of her Plan.

Her ten-year plan that is.

(She has a vision board and post its and planners for as far in advance as she could buy them to prepare.)

Some goals are reasonable. Some, _not_ so.

(Marrying Prince Harry, for instance, not something that was ever going to happen. But that didn't stop her from making a vision board for it.)

She adjusts The Plan every year, to keep up with the changes in her life. Blocks out a whole week to readjust her trajectory.

So yes, marriage has always been a part of The Plan; has been something she had wanted since she has known what they were, what it meant to tie yourself to another person for the rest of your lives, to be a half of a whole.

She wants to fall in the forever kind of love that hitches breath and flushes cheeks and sits in your mind.

So, sue her.

She wants the kind of love that bears children and happiness and grey hair on a porch.

The kind of love that burned hot and bright at first, then warmed and simmered and is made up of laughter and kisses and smiles and dancing in the kitchen to the sound of the rain on the roof.

 _And then she died._

And because of that, her whole plan is shot to shit, because being dead has a funny way of doing that to a girl.

Because now, forever has entirely different connotations. Big, scary ones she hasn't managed to wrap her head around yet, doesn't want to try if she's honest.

Her warm, soft human self is gone, has been replaced with something else.

Something sinister and greedy and _hungry_.

The landscape of her life that was once washed in shades of pastel and sunshine is now _drenched_ in blood and shades of grey that haunt her dreams.

But, she tries to push down that feeling, tries to keep life safe, normal, _human_.

Sticks to The Plan as much as she can, and besides, just how is she supposed to block out time to fix it when the world is falling apart around her?

She ignores her new instincts to bite and tear and bleed and end things.

She tries to keep her life the same.

She goes to school and dances and kisses her sweetheart.

(Ignores the scent of his blood, the song of his heartbeat.)

This sweetheart who is kind and sweet and perfect for human Caroline. Shallow kiddie-pool Caroline.

But, she's dead, she isn't that same girl with the ten-year plan anymore.

Turns out, _that_ much change is _not_ a great foundation for a relationship.

She gives up on the soft human love. Sets her sights on an epic love story, one that they will want to write books about, and sonnets and songs.

She stops looking to her ten-year plan.

And then there's her wolf.

He's sweet and passionate and made up of raw edges and angry snarls.

He gets the possessive nature of her, understands when she pushes into him, wants to climb into his bones, because _he wants that too._

He is all sharp edges, all temper and words and daring declarations of his affection, and hands that curl into fists, a deep furrow in his brow.

And this _feels_ more like her epic love.

Because he won't break, doesn't falter in the face of her monster, because he has a monster buried in his skin too, one that breaks out at the full moon, just as scary as hers, just as possessive and hungry and angry.

But it doesn't last. And she _nearly_ isn't surprised.

...

The first time _he_ turns up, she's dying and freshly eighteen.

He is _aghast_ when she asks if he intends to kill her, looks like he means his upset too.

He spins her a fantastic tale of the world, even makes her believe that _he_ believes the words coming out of his mouth.

But eternity is still just a word, one that means nothing to her, one she has given no thought to, will give no thought to, not yet.

He has lived some of his eternity. Has relished in the freedom it brings him.

She can't wrap her mind around how long he has been alive, because it makes no sense to her.

For her, he spins it into something manageable, and for the first time, it doesn't _terrify_ her.

For the very first time, she begins to understand the possibility it brings.

She throws out her ten-year plan the morning after he saves her from himself.

(Digs out her planner that night and apologies to it in her mind, tucks it into the back of a drawer, forgotten.)

She doesn't tell him any of this, of course.

Because she _hates_ him.

Hates the way he smirks at her, a curl of his lips when he finds out she breaks things off with Tyler.

Hates the knowing glint to his eyes whenever he sees her.

Hates the way he says her name, drawing it out until she has to supresses a shiver.

Hates the way he uses his eyes to track her, their heat all too familiar across her skin.

Hates the way he dances with her, too close and too perfect and _too often_.

Hates the way his fingers brush across her skin, leaving gooseflesh in their wake.

Hates him because he isn't allowed to have these feelings, isn't allowed to inspire anything but hatred in her.

(She can't hate him. Not really.)

...

She had thought true love, the real kind, was the stuff of fairy tales, and he is a _nightmare_.

He's the nightmare that even monsters hide from.

(Even though he features in several of her dreams, he's _never_ been her nightmare.)

So, she ignores him, and the feelings he inspires in her. Refuses to admit the way they grow.

Tries to stop it from growing into something like regard at the pageant.

She fails.

Tries to stop the fond smile that sits on her lips as they sip cocktails in New York.

She fails.

Tries to stop their friendship as he plies her with more food in Marrakesh.

She fails.

Tries to stop the laughter that bubbles up when they talk in late winter sunshine in Milan.

She fails.

Doesn't try to stop the way they lean into each other when they talk, finds her hands brushing his when they walk down a warm Tuscan street, washed in night-time shades of blue.

Gives up when it turns into something else, something _more_.

She finds doesn't mind at all.

...

She had thought that love was the big moments that swept her away, the large show stopping moments that only happen in fairy tales, or movies. Those moments that leave butterflies in your veins, a nervous, pleased smile on your face.

She realises it isn't _all_ about those moments.

(He is still _very_ good at those moments.)

It's the small moments she loves the most. All they ways he says, 'I love you" without saying a word.

Because anyone can say words.

The way he shifts the blankets higher over her unfeeling vampire shoulders, a glass poured before his own, a chair pulled out next to his, the secret smile he sends her across a room, the heat in his eyes, a gentle squeeze of fingers under the dinner table, it's the fire in his eyes when they fight, the way his lips curl when she yells back at him, the way he sweeps her hair back from her eyes, the way his eyes seek hers, his sleepy smile in the morning, the way he presses kisses to her forehead when he thinks she's sleeping and the way he never doubts her.

A hundred million things like this, and more, so much more.

It's the way he _looks_ at her, when the ever-present agony in his eyes recedes, fills with something else, something he only ever shows her.

It looks like loneliness and hope and an affection so bright it burns.

Whenever he looks at her like that, his siblings make a hasty exit, muttering about how sickeningly in love they are, but the words hold no heat, only a supressed happiness and she can't help but smile at him, an almost shy grin that has him laughing in response.

An entire conversation without words about how much he loves her.

And isn't that something special, something epic.

...


	5. Caroline and Henrik

_**I'd apologise, but I can't even pretend to be sorry. More trash from my brain. Enjoy and leave me a review!**_

He had been out with Marcel while she had been working, and she had picked him up on her way home from the venue. She had gone into the pub, and had been hailed by Marcel and Klaus shouting her name from the corner, where they were surrounded by an impressive amount of empty glasses, laughing uproariously, waving her over.

"Caroline, light of my life" Marcel called, his glass held high and droplets of whatever they had been drinking splattered over the table, and himself.

"Hi Marcel" she leaned over the table, accepting his sloppy kiss to her cheek, leaning back to sit next to Klaus, his arm winding around her waist,

"She's the light of my life actually" he says, slurring slightly, grinning and leaning in to kiss her cheek, but missing and hitting her nose instead.

"How charming" she says dryly, laughing with them.

"Are you almost ready?" she asks, looking at their near empty glasses and they both nod, yawning and chuckling.

"We are far too old to be going out to nightclubs and dancing all night" Marcel says, with a laugh.

"I, for one, am far too tired to be doing that all night, especially when I know what I would _much_ rather be doing" Klaus said with a salacious grin directed at Caroline, and Marcel laughed when she snorted.

"Ok, Romeo, let's get you home, yeah?" she laughed as Marcel and Klaus each took a hand, and pulled her up,

"Wait with me while I get a cab?" Marcel asked, pulling his coat on in the cold London air, and Caroline rolled her eyes, already walking to her car.

"We'll drop you off, get in the car"

She had laughed as Klaus and Marcel had drunkenly tried to serenade her, before he and Marcel had spent the rest of the ride complimenting Klaus on catching her attention long enough for her to agree to be his girlfriend, before turning on her and asking if she had some screws loose that had caused her to look twice.

After dropping Marcel off, and wrestling Klaus into her apartment, she had only just got into bed, trying to get comfortable as Klaus softly snored next to her, when Klaus's phone rang. A shrill, _very_ annoying ringtone, that try as she might she couldn't ignore. She leaned over him to pick it up, alarm spiking through her when she saw it was Henrik calling, just after midnight on a Saturday night.

"Hello?"

"Caroline?" he sounded scared, and she was immediately up and searching for her jeans.

"Henrik, are you ok?" he let out a shuddering breath,

"Can you please get Nik to come and pick me up?" she had already pulled a sweater out of a drawer, and was pushing her feet into shoes,

"He's asleep, but I'll come. Where are you?" she glanced back at Klaus, who hadn't moved an inch, and was still snoring, even though she was making a fair amount of noise.

"I – I don't really know" he said, the wind crackling against the speaker.

"That's alright, listen, I'm going to give you my phone number, can you put me on speaker and save it? Then send me a drop pin of where you are" she rattles of her number, and sighs in relief when she realises he isn't too far from her apartment.

"Do you want me to stay on the phone with you, until I get there?" she asked, as she grabbed a bottle of water from her fridge, and a bottled iced coffee she kept on hand, as well as the throw from the end of her couch, a box of tissues, and a sick baggie she had from a recent flight to see her Mom.

"Yes please, I don't really know where I am, don't want to get jumped" she laughed, they were in a fairly safe area, but it never hurt to be on the safe side.

"Are you ok? Are you in a safe space? Do you need medical attention?" she asked rapidly, wondering if she would need to use her first aid kit in her car, or take him to a hospital. He choked a little laugh,

"No, no I don't need medical attention, I just needed to get out of there. And yes, I've walked a few blocks away, and I'm in a well-lit, populated area" he sounded like he was rolling his eyes, and Caroline laughed.

"Have you eaten? We can stop and grab something on the way home if you want?" she asked, connecting the call to her cars Bluetooth, and driving away from her building.

"I haven't, not since lunch time-"

"It's ok, we can get something on the way back to mine. Now, how's university going?" in an effort to distract Henrik from whatever had happened, she asked him about his classes.

He was in his first year at university, studying anthropology, and, according to his brothers was making the most of being out of the house and away from prying parents noses, by making 'friends' with as many people he could find. The way he told Caroline, however, made it sound like all he was doing was studying and avoiding people who lived in his dorm building.

When she pulled up, he was sitting on the curb, stamping his feet in the cold, and pacing in the cold air trying to stay warm.

"Hey there stranger" she called, ending the call, smiling as he gratefully climbed into her car, accepting the throw blanket she gave him.

She pressed a hand to his forehead, and checked his eyes pinched his cheek for good measure.

"You're really ok?" she asked, the concern plain in her voice, and she cranked up the heater when she realised he was shivering.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Some guy pulled a knife at the party and I bailed. It's a bit much. I mean, a knife? What for, we're all English majors and anthros and a chunk of history students. What do we even know about being in a fight, let alone fighting with a knife?" he seemed bewildered, and Caroline agreed. No offence to any of those kids, but they were usually on the nerdier side, not at all cut out for fighting. He clicked his seatbelt in as she hummed in agreement, giving him the throw from the couch, spreading it over his knees.

"Here, I've got a water bottle, and some iced coffee and some tissues and there's painkillers and bandages in the first aid kit in the glove box. Are you going to be sick? I've got a sick bag if you need it" he laughed,

"Maybe I should call you for midnight rescues more often, you've thought of everything" She laughed, and pushed the water bottle into his hand,

"Someone has to, I doubt any of your siblings have ever been this prepared in their lives. Are you hungry?"

"Burgers, I want a burger. And fries and a milkshake" he groaned, "I'm so starving!"

…..

When Klaus had gone to sleep, he had had a hand curled around Caroline's hip, his face tucked into her neck. He was warm and sleepy and a little drunk and was in a rather good mood about how his day had ended.

When he woke up, however, he was alone, his arm stretched out across the bed, where Caroline was supposed to be.

As he looked around, he would see that her pillow was missing, and there was a water glass and painkillers sitting next to him, alongside his phone, keys and wallet.

His clothes from the night before were neatly folded on the chair in the corner, his shoes underneath. The only thing missing was Caroline, the light off in the bathroom, her side of the bed empty.

Pulling a pair of sweatpants out 'his' drawer he went to investigate where his girlfriend had wandered to.

He knew she wasn't working for the next few days, as they had both taken some time off, and were planning to head out to his parents estate for a few days. With their mutually busy schedules, it was hard to carve out alone time, so they had to take advantage where they could.

The early morning light filtered through Caroline's flat, warming the floorboards nicely. He started a pot of coffee (horrid American stuff) and looked into the living room, a smile curving his mouth.

Henrik was stretched across the couch, his longer legs dangling over the edge, the blanket slipping sideways off him as he snored lightly with his mouth open. Caroline was curled on the small loveseat, fast asleep, her pillow crammed awkwardly under her neck, the throw from the other couch curled around her fists.

The tv was playing some cartoon, the coffee table between them filled with snacks, some half eaten, some empty, crumbs Caroline would hate to see when she woke up.

He turned the tv off, and swiped the crumbs onto his hand, shaking them off into the bin, and then attempted to make breakfast.

The only trouble was that Caroline spent most nights at his flat, and hadn't been grocery shopping recently, and they'd been planning on getting food on the road.

All she had in her kitchen was some frozen oven fries and some old left overs they'd had last time they'd stayed at hers, almost three weeks ago, so definitely not safe to eat. He couldn't even remember what was supposed to be in those containers, so he threw them straight into the bin, and headed back to the bedroom to find his jeans and jacket, he was going to have to venture out to find some food, something safe to eat.

When he got back, they were both still sleeping, it was nearing eight am, and they were supposed to be on the road for the week away shortly, before traffic got too busy. He assumed Henrik would be coming with them, they'd just have to stop off so he could pack a bag.

"OI, wake up you two!" he called, setting down the containers of food, and going over to fling open the blinds in the living room, flooding the room with bright sunshine.

"I bought breakfast, but we have to be on the road soon if we're stopping at Hen's dorm" he told them as they let out matching groans.

"I hate you," Henrik told him, covering his face with a pillow, while Caroline smiled, and laughed a little as Klaus came over to give her a lengthy kiss good morning.

"Hi" she said softly as he pulled back, and he smiled at her, pulling her up off the loveseat.

"I got breakfast, come on Hen" he said a little louder, leading Caroline to one of the stools she had at the breakfast bar.

…..

Henrik had gone for a shower before Klaus sent her a questioning look.

"What happened?" he asked, concern crossing his face.

"There was a party, some kid pulled a knife, he bailed" she said, and he sighed in relief, at least nothing had happened.

"Thank you" he caught her elbow as she went past him, going to clean up the mess in the living room no doubt. She smiled, and shrugged.

"I could hardly leave him there on his own" he rolled his eyes, teasingly.

"I know, but still. Look, why don't you go and do your last minute packing, I'll clean up out here, and we can go?" She leaned up, and kissed him again, this one a little more explicit than the one they'd shared earlier. And if there wasn't the lingering reminder that Henrik could walk in at any moment, he would be instigating a lot more than a kiss.

"Caroline, where do you want me t- Oh." Henrik coughed, and when they separated, he had turned around, still talking,

"I can just go back to the bathroom, I just need to know where you want me to put this towel" he sounded awkward, and they separated a little more, creating a more polite distance.

"Here, I'll take it, you can turn around now, it's safe," Caroline teased.

"You're coming with us right? I know you're on break from classes at the moment, come up for the weekend with us" Caroline said, not giving Henrik time to say no, but when he looked at Klaus, he just grinned and shrugged.

"Just up to Mum and Dads for the weekend, it'll be fun"


End file.
